Selection Procedures and Training Programs for New Administrators: A Summary of Practices in Selected School Divisions.

Virginia Beach City Public Schools, VA.

Principals perform many, varied instructional and managerial tasks. Steps in the selection process in a school division fall into four categories: developing policies; establishing a pool; formal selection procedures; and post-hiring activities. When selectors evaluate individual candidates for a position, they use one or more of five basic models: biographical data; written tests; structured interviews; job samples; and assessment centers. Several public school districts have designed professional development programs for potential and current school principals and other administrative and/or supervisory staff. The practices of the following school districts are the focus of the paper: (1) Charlotte/Mecklinburg Unified School District (Charlotte, North Carolina); (2) Ector County Public School District (Odessa, Texas); (3) Howard County Public Schools (Columbia, Maryland); (4) Montgomery County Public School District (Rockville, Maryland); (5) Norfolk City Public Schools (Norfolk, Virginia); and (6) San Luis Coastal Unified School District (San Luis Obispo, California). (SI)